Thorn and Ember

·. 𝒯𝓊𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒯𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈 ·.

THE NEXT FEW days were strange. Hades had noticed something off about Maleficent. She wasn't her usual self—at least, not with him. At first, he had chalked it up to his reunion with Persephone. She was an old friend, and catching up with her had been refreshing in a way, but it hadn't meant anything more than that. They had known each other for years, long before he had even started at Merlin Academy, but Persephone had never been more than a friend.

Still, something about Maleficent's sudden coldness gnawed at him. She had been distant in ways he couldn't quite pinpoint, and it wasn't just her usual aloofness. There was something else behind it—something she wasn't saying.

He tried to brush it off. Maybe she was busy, or maybe she was dealing with her own problems. After all, Maleficent wasn't exactly the type of wear her emotions on her sleeve. But as the days went on, it became harder to ignore the growing tensions between them.

It all came to a head during their next dance class.

They had been paired together again, and while things had been going relatively smoothly, there was an undeniable distance between them. Maleficent barely looked at him, and when she did, her gaze was cold and calculated, as if she was deliberately holding something back.

Hades was growing frustrated. He wasn't used to feeling this way—so unsure, so unsettled. Maleficent had always been a mystery, but now it felt like she was purposefully shutting him out, and it was starting to get under his skin.

By the end of the class, he couldn't take it anymore.

As they finished their routine, Hades grabbed her wrist before she could walk away, pulling her aside.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" he demanded, his voice low but sharp.

Maleficent raised an eyebrow, her face a mask of indifference. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with," Hades snapped. "You've been acting weird for days. Cold distant. . . you barely even look at me."

Maleficent shrugged, pulling her wrist free. "I don't know what you're talking about." 

Hades let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Are you seriously going to act like nothing's wrong? Because I know something is." 

Maleficent crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. "Maybe you're just imagining things." 

"Yeah, right," Hades scoffed. "I'm not an idiot, Maleficent. I know when someone's pulling away." 

She rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed by his sudden interrogation. "Maybe you should stop assuming everything is about you." 

"Maybe it is," he shot back, stepping closer. "Or maybe it's about Persephone." 

At the mention of her name, Maleficent's eyes flashed, but she quickly masked the reaction. "What about her?" 

"I don't know," Hades said, voice laced with sarcasm. "You tell me. You've been acting weird ever since she showed up. You're jealous, aren't you?" 

Maleficent let out a short, bitter laugh. "Jealous? Of Persephone? Please." 

"You're not fooling anyone, Mal," Hades pressed, his frustration mounting. "You've been trying to avoid me ever since you saw us together. I know you." 

Her eyes narrowed, her posture stiffening. "You don't know anything about me." 

Hades stared at her, his expression hardening. "So that's it? You're just going to shut me out because of some girl you barely know?"